Missouri 2008 Official Vacation Planner - (Page 18) VACATIONS FOR THE Dreaming JEN MELLARD Ten distinct Missouri communities favor visitors with a variety of dream vacations. ost vacation dreams share some common features: striking surroundings, a relaxed pace, sundry activities, affordability and some inexpressible quality that calls people back. Recently, Missouri began identifying its “dream” communities, choosing a well-qualified, inaugural group of 10. Here they are. M A Red House and an Elms Hotel In Cape Girardeau, a former French trading post on the drifting Mississippi, they say the river turns a thousand tales. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark visited in 1803, and the Red House Interpretive Center at 128 S. Main St. replicates the home where Lewis stayed. A looming floodwall has often saved the city, most dramatically from the devastating flood of 1993. And, as if in appreciation, the city has filled the wall with impressive murals. Civil 18 Missouri Vacation Planner 2008 War sites and fine museums are scattered about, and the nearby Trail of Tears State Park occupies the area where Cherokees were forced across the Mississippi in the winter of 1838–39. About a century ago, Missouri boasted many mineral springs resorts that catered to health-conscious vacationers eager to “take in the waters.” Twenty such gushers made the aptly named Excelsior Springs area the jewel of the circuit. The city’s famous Elms Hotel, a favorite haunt of Al Capone, remains a living embodiment of that era, and the Art Deco Hall of Waters maintains a water bar and museum. These new-old facilities and their manicured grounds mesh nicely with the vital dining, shopping and entertainment district just a stroll away. Gatsby Days in spring and Waterfest in midsummer are artful, musical and fun. Kansas City is 30 minutes away and the Jesse James boyhood farm only 15.
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